[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 168 (Thursday, December 6, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S12536]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO HAROLD SCHAFER OF NORTH DAKOTA

 Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, today a giant presence in North 
Dakota history is being laid to rest.
  Harold Schafer was truly larger than life. He was perhaps North 
Dakota's most prominent citizen--accomplished in his public life, and 
generous in his private life.
  He grew up in western North Dakota in hard times, and went on to be 
the most successful entrepreneur in our State's history. Harold Schafer 
was a salesman's salesman. He had a magnetic personality, boundless 
energy, a genuine interest in people and tremendous enthusiasm for 
life. His curiosity and passion for living were contagious. Harold 
Schafer was just plain fun to be around.
  He started a small business in his basement, and grew it into a 
multi-million dollar national enterprise. His Gold Seal company was the 
kind of great American success story that gave meaning to the phrase 
``household name.'' Harold Schafer gave us Glass Wax, Snowy Bleach, and 
Mr. Bubble. He enjoyed great financial success, and his rags-to-riches 
story earned him the Horatio Alger award.
  But Harold Schafer was much more than a successful businessman. He 
was interested and involved in every part of the life of North Dakota 
and the Nation. His acquaintances ranged from the powerful and well-
known to the shoeshine man on the corner, and he enjoyed the company of 
all of them. He entertained General Douglas MacArthur in his home in 
Bismarck. He was a friend to Ronald Reagan and Perry Como. He appeared 
in the movie ``How the West Was Won.''
  And he will always be remembered as our State's most prominent 
philanthropist, even though he never sought recognition for his 
generosity. He helped hundreds of young North Dakotans through college, 
almost always anonymously. I know, because he offered to put me through 
college when I was a young man. He helped hundreds and hundreds of 
others, in ways big and small. Almost always, he reached out to assist 
the less fortunate in ways that others never knew about.
  He preferred it that way, but how he loved to help. Harold Schafer 
was a big man with a big heart, and a real love for life. He could talk 
to anyone, and learn from everyone.
  His enthusiasm and energy took him into the worlds of politics, 
business education and philanthropy. He was the man who restored the 
town of Medora in the North Dakota Badlands, an important place in the 
life of President Theodore Roosevelt.
  Harold spent millions of dollars of his own money to bring the story 
of that town to a national audience. Today, Medora is the premier 
vacation spot in our State. It is the gateway to the rugged beauty of 
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and hosts a professional show every 
evening in the summer in a spectacular outdoor amphitheater.
  Harold Schafer did not invest in Medora to make money, but to 
preserve the area's rich history. Medora tells a story that has 
inspired thousands of young people with the vision that Theodore 
Roosevelt and Harold Schafer shared, the ``can-do'' attitude that says, 
``every person can make a difference, and every person should try.''
  Harold Schafer adopted as the symbol of his company a statue of a 
pioneer entitled ``Work.'' He loved to work, to build and to make 
things better. That was at the heart of Harold Schafer's philosophy.
  I know these things because I first met Harold Schafer when I was a 
small boy, and had the privilege of being part of his extended family. 
He was a close friend of my father. When my parents were killed in an 
automobile accident, Harold Schafer adopted my family as he did so many 
others. Every Christmas Eve, Harold would come to my home with a 
trunkload of gifts for the family, a wide smile, and genuine glee 
celebrating all that life had to offer.
  He brought happiness to hundreds of families that had suffered a loss 
or a hardship. That's the kind of man Harold Schafer was. He made the 
world a better place while he was here, and he leaves the world a 
sadder place for his passing. Our sympathy goes out to his wife, 
Sheila, and his children, Haroldeen, Ed, Joanne, Dianne, Pamela, Mark, 
Michele, and Maureen, their families, and his many grandchildren and 
great-grandchildren. We will miss him greatly.

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